Late Night Woes
by CatatonicVanity
Summary: Twelve year old Integra has dealt with a lot in her life, and so it's understandable that she has some nightmares. But after her father passes, the only consolation comes in a vampiric form.


A/N: Hello! This is my first Hellsing fic and for whatever reason, I wanted to write some AlucardxYoung!Integra fluffiness. Please review!

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Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing thought of herself as a pretty tough girl, given that she was only twelve. After all, she had managed to survive her father dying and her uncle trying to kill her, which led her to releasing the most powerful and feared monster in existence without meaning to. And she'd done so with no hysteria.

Oh yeah, and a secret organization that fought supernatural and satanic forces landed on her back and she became entrusted to protect the Church of England and Her Majesty the Queen.

She thought about this as she wandered the halls of the massive estate she'd inherited in an attempt to boost her own self esteem. It was two in the morning and she'd had a rather vicious nightmare involving all manner of monsters tormenting her as she realized the weight of the job placed upon her shoulders. It wasn't the first occurrence of this, and usually she'd go to her father and murmur to herself that yes, monsters did exist.

"You're bloody well right they exist Integra, and you'd better get over your fear of them," her father would say. "You'll be fighting them too, some day, and it won't do to be a cowering little girl."

Integra passed the door that led to her father's room and felt a pang on loneliness in her chest. She didn't know her mother, her father was gone and her uncle had tried to kill her. She briefly entertained the notion that she could go to Walter for comfort, but dismissed that when she remembered that he was a sixty year old man that had enough on his plate as it was.

Then the monster she had on a leash phased through a wall down the hallway. She immediately recognized the towering form, the flowing black hair and the hideous coat he insisted on wearing. Then his glowing red eyes turned to hers and narrowed slightly. She stood firm as he walked to her slowly, each step seeming measured. When he stood about five feet in front of her, he paused and looked down at her.

"Alucard," she said softly by way of greeting, cursing internally when her voice cracked. Then the huge vampire swept his coat out grandly and knelt, leaning towards her. The tear streaks on her face standing out in the pale moonlight and his brow furrowed.

Though he was an ancient and powerful vampire, Alucard had grown a strange fondness to the girl. She was young and pure and he had decided that if anyone was fitting to be his master, it would be someone like her that demanded respect, no matter how childish she looked. He'd witnessed her emotional strength first hand, and so seeing her in tears worried him, and quite frankly, pissed him off.

Integra's eyes widened when the raven in front of her shed his enormous, ugly coat and flung it around her, draping it over her shoulders.

"Integra," he murmured in his baritone voice, "why are you crying?"

The blonde girl stiffened at the question and she felt a bruise in her pride at the very thought of voicing that she'd had a nightmare. So she shifted her gaze elsewhere.

"Look for yourself. You could see it in my mind anyway, couldn't you?" When he heard the words, he leaned forward a bit and probed at the surface of her mind, breaking through gently. He was immediately bombarded with images from her rather vivid nightmare and he withdrew, tilting his head to the side and raising his hand slowly. When she didn't openly reject the advance, he wiped the tears off of her tanned flesh with his fingertips.

"You would usually go to your father now, wouldn't you?" he asked. She nodded without looking at him. He sighed silently and extended his arms. She looked shocked at the gesture, but shuffled forward until she ran into his chest. Her small hands pulled the coat tighter around her shoulders and he folded his arms around her, standing with her in his arms.

"Alucard!" she screeched, looking up at the pale face hovering over hers. "What in the name of God are you doing?" His lips curled into a small smile.

"I'm taking you to bed, of course. That's what your father would do, no?"

Integra stayed silent while the vampire carried her to her bedroom and sat her down on the oversized bed. She scooted backwards to her pillows and drew her knees up to her chest, expecting to be left alone, but Alucard sat on the bed beside her.

"Integra I want you to think about something." Her eyes hardened at the demand, but she nodded slowly. "Think of my name very carefully, and then flip it."

It was only a second later that the blonde haired child looked up with her mouth hanging open. "You're… Dracula?" The vampire nodded.

"Once upon a time, yes. And I am bound forever to you. So if ever you have those thoughts or nightmares again, remember that Count Dracula is the one protecting you. And no score of monsters will ever get past me."

Integra stared at the cold beast sitting on the edge of her bed with wide eyes and nodded eventually. He smiled again at her response and stood, grasping a handful of the covers and dropping them over her small frame. As he turned to leave, a small, sharp voice called out.

"Wait!" Alucard turned and raised an eyebrow. "Why? I thought you would hate the Hellsing family." Alucard's eyes darkened and Integra felt a small rush of fear go through her.

"No. I hated Abraham, your grandfather. But Authur was a very different master whom I rather enjoyed serving, and I can already tell you'll be the same."

When Alucard has phased through the wall and left her in solitude, Integra thought about the words and smiled. This was a softer side of the vampire she'd never seen; for a moment, the pang of loneliness in her chest that had been present since her father's death was nonexistent.


End file.
